


halving the compass

by lisettedelapin



Series: halving the compass [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post Season 1, but the others will maybe be coming soon, here we start with just makoto and rin, probs the start of a series of oneshots of rin connecting with the iwatobi gang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 14:26:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4063297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisettedelapin/pseuds/lisettedelapin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto nods, already thinking of timings and places and the midpoint of the distance between them when Rin cuts off his train of thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	halving the compass

**Author's Note:**

> why is it when you have the least amount of time to write something you feel like writing it?? anyway, hello! i've been craving makorin gen lately so i thought i'd suck it up and give it a go. c: this is intended to be the start of a series of oneshots of rin connecting/reconnecting with the iwatobi kiddos. there might be a bit more focus on makorin though, i'm not entirely sure!
> 
> title from [halving the compass by helios!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_08sBMQXWo)

“Oi!”

Makoto’s limbs are post-practice heavy; sluggish over ground he’s trying to trust again. He still feels like his head is underwater, ears not yet unblocked when he turns before his mind has caught the sound his feet are shifting towards.

He’s just barely thought the name _Rin_ when he sees him, closer than expected, slightly out of breath.

“Wait up!”  
  
Makoto pauses, smiles without thought before he wonders what Rin might be stopping him for.

When Rin doesn’t say anything, choosing instead to stick his hands in the pockets of his jacket and stare (glare, really) at a point somewhere around Makoto’s shoulder, Makoto realises he’s meant to speak. He clears his throat, unsure of when exactly it got so thick in the first place.

“Yes, Rin?”

Rin jerks his chin upwards and blinks once, quickly. As a child, Makoto always thought his movements to resemble flickers – the blur of a swallow’s wing, or the dive away from the rising smoke of a fired starter pistol. That hasn’t changed now.

“I was just wondering…” The way Rin’s words slacken catches Makoto’s attention. This is new; Makoto is used to scrambling to keep up with Rin’s voice. Now, Rin gulps, appears to search. 

Makoto deliberates over whether or not he should say something. Ultimately, he falls short of a good filler, and decides instead to shift so his feet are aligned directly with Rin’s. He grounds himself, smiles as patiently as possible.

Rin shakes his head, frowning. “Do you have to look at me li—“

He huffs. “Nevermind.”

Makoto raises an eyebrow, perplexed. His smile doesn’t falter but his eyes grow a little keener with the faint stirring in the pit of his stomach. _Careful._ He mirrors Rin, tucking his hands in his pockets. He watches as he waits.

“I was just _thinking_ ,” Rin starts, a hint gruffly. “That maybe you and I could…um…do something?”

Makoto feels his breath leave him in a rush as he rocks backwards on his feet.  _That was it._ He’s about to laugh with relief, stops himself just in time but can’t quite keep the smile out of his voice. “Oh?”

“Something that’s not, well, swimming. Y’know?”

Does he know? He played video games with Haru last Saturday _. Haru._ His head clears, he understands.

“With Haru?” Makoto asks, unfazed. It’s just the logical conclusion.

Rin’s eyes widen. “Well, yeah…”

Makoto nods, already thinking of timings and places and the midpoint of the distance between them when Rin cuts off his train of thought.

There’s resoluteness in the way he looks at Makoto, now. It’s recognisable enough that it melts the years in Makoto’s mind some, and the breeze feels more familiar. He shivers with the wistful curve of it before it passes him by.

“Yeah, definitely with Haru.” Rin shifts his weight, pulls one hand from his pocket to thread his fingers through his hair. “But also just you some time, maybe.”

Makoto can’t help the nervous laugh that fizzles from him, the slow warmth that spreads from his chest to his cheeks. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s odd. He feels foolish in the way he might with someone he’s only just met.

“It’s been a while,” Rin says, softly.

And Makoto realises just how true the words are.

“Yeah.”

A relay, tears, and one joint practice do not make the neat ending Makoto had believed under the flash of a camera. Now, though they may have made a bowline knot to an anchor, the waters they are grounded in are not quite ones they have already charted. It dawns on Makoto that during every interaction he has had with Rin since Regionals, he has been reaching only for the things he used to know Rin to be.

Makoto nods. “It really has, huh?” 

They’re both quiet for a moment, until Rin seems to notice something beyond Makoto and he straightens up. “Ah, they’re waiting for you.” There’s a searching edge to the tone of his voice; a shy lighthouse flicker of hope that chases and hides. Makoto wishes it were something tangible enough to hold in cupped hands, keep warm between fingers folded to palms.

He turns to look at where Rin is focused.

Haru, Nagisa, Rei and Gou are standing together, almost at the gate. They don’t call out to Makoto, but he can tell that they are waiting. Haru watches, carefully. Makoto smiles at him, and then at everyone, and gives a quick wave.

He’ll be there in a moment.

Haru nods at Makoto, sweeps his gaze to Rin and lingers before turning back towards the group.

When Makoto faces Rin again, he finds him grinning.

“Can never tell what that guy’s thinking when he looks at me.”

In general, it’s easy to get tangled when thinking of Rin. There’s warmth that eases its way into Makoto’s words, or perhaps its what eases the words out of him. 

“He’s glad you’re back.” _Almost._

Rin’s hands are back in his pockets. The serrated edge of his smile mellows to something sweeter.

“You could tell just then?” He asks, eyes wide.

Rin is charming when he’s not trying to be.

Makoto gives him a lopsided smile as an answer, and when Rin laughs, Makoto feels his eyes crinkle.

He seems markedly more relaxed when he looks at Makoto now. “I’ll see you at the next practice, yeah?”  
  
Makoto nods. “Or earlier.” He shrugs his bag up higher on his shoulder. “To hang out…”

“R-right, or earlier…to hang out. Definitely.”

“Definitely.”  
  
“You have my number. Feel free to message or call whenever,” Makoto says. He wonders if it’s possible to empathy blush when he spots the colour of Rin’s cheeks and he feels his own skin heat up.

On his way back to his team, he turns once to find Rin in the same spot. He waves at Makoto, and as Makoto waves back, he realises that somewhere along the course of their exchange, something had shifted.

When he looks at his team, they are all waving to Rin as well. 

There's fresh blooms winding their way from age old soil. Here is a chance to know sunlight and water that isn't necessarily chlorinated. 

He thinks of the time capsule buried soundly in the back garden of Iwatobi SC, and then of what it took to fill it with memories in the first place.

What they have now is words and the points of a compass fashioned from their hands.

Now, Makoto understands, there is more to do than relearning. 


End file.
